8990 Holdings commences P5-B preferred shares offer

Property developer 8990 Holdings Inc. is raising P5 billion through the sale of series A preferred shares.

In a statement, the builder said the offer period started Friday and would run until Nov. 23 this year. The listing date was set for Dec. 1.

The preferred share issuance is cumulative, nonvoting, nonparticipating, nonconvertible, redeemable and peso-denominated with an issue size of 50 million shares at P100 per share.

The shares will have a dividend of 6.03 percent annually, to be paid quarterly.

8990 Holdings has the option to redeem the preferred shares in whole on the fifth anniversary of its listing date. “Otherwise, a step-up rate will replace the current dividend rate on the fifth anniversary of its listing date, unless the preferred shares are redeemed by the company.”

8990 Holdings said the P5-billion sale was the first tranche of its 100-million preferred shares shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The registration is valid for three years.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) approved last Nov. 8 the listing of the offer shares on the bourse’s main board.

The PSE approval does not cover the entire 100 million preferred shares under the shelf registration, but only the first tranche of 50 million shares, the company said.

“Our goal for 2017 is to strengthen our balance sheet. The P5-billion preferred shares issuance is part of our strategy to achieve this, allowing us to focus more on expanding our portfolio of mass housing projects across the country,” 8990 Holdings chief operating officer Willie J. Uy said in the statement.

8990 Holdings is a leading mass housing developer, with a total of 52 projects to date. It is set to launch eight developments in 2017. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS